Cycling on Mljet Island

A thin finger of land pointing back towards Croatia’s mainland, Mljet Island is a cyclist’s dream of paradise: flat, and forested, the quiet cycle paths circle little salt lakes (perfect for a soothing soak or a canoe paddle), then criss-cross north to south, opening out onto pine-fringed beaches here and there, before darting back into the island’s peaceful, vegetation-carpeted interior. Rightly a national park, Mljet is also a place of legends – this is where the nymph Calypso kept Odysseus captive for seven years. Still not tempted? The island’s ancient name, Melitta, comes from the Greek melitte nesos - ‘honey isle’. As lovely as it sounds.